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Battle Of New York

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Sprained Shoulder for Avery

Sean Avery suffered a sprained shoulder on the questionable hit from Chris Neil tonight. He'll be re-evaluated tomorrow and see what happens from there. If he is indeed out for an extended period of time, Marcel Hossa will step back into the starting lineup, and if an extra forward is needed, Nigel Dawes would be recalled from Hartford.

I'm hoping the league takes a look at the hit. I don't think a suspension is warranted, but a fine is in order. It was obvious that Neil was headhunting on the play. I didn't see the elbow that some people saw, but I did see a borderline charge on a guy without the puck. His hit was the "hit to hurt" approach that Commissioner Gary Bettman warned Ryan Hollweg about earlier in the week. It's a shame Colton Orr didn't step up and knock Neil out. Here's to hoping Avery has a speedy recovery.